On the NBA.

Pacers' problem: Artest

January 28, 2005|By Sam Smith.

INDIANAPOLIS — There's a shadow that hangs over the Indiana Pacers, gloomy, dense and pervasive. It's one the Pacers, who fell to the dark side of .500 Thursday in an 88-76 loss to the Detroit Pistons, can't shake.

Moreover, it's not necessarily because of the memory of the November brawl in Auburn Hills, Mich., that was in the forefront again against the Pistons.

The shadow is more because of the continued absence of Ron Artest, suspended for the season from that incident. His forced benching casts a pall over the Pacers' season and the future of a team that seemed on the brink of something special when it won 61 games last season.

"I know they're feeling sorry for themselves," Pacers general manager Larry Bird said Thursday. "That's why they've been so up and down. They can look great, and then they struggle. Maybe they could have gotten [to the NBA Finals] this year. Maybe not. But they have to decide to do it together. Their body language is up and down. But the talent is here."

But without Artest, an All-Star and the league's best defender last season, Bird isn't sure what this team can do.

The Pacers talk of having the team they will play the rest of the season with now that Stephen Jackson is back from his 30-game suspension. But there are still court dates, injuries, absences and lethargy from the weight of a disappointing season.

This doesn't all stem from what Artest brings on the court.

He was allowed to practice with the team for the first time Monday, and with Jackson returning, reporters spent time asking Jackson what he thought of Artest practicing.

It's not unlike what the Cubs are going through with Sammy Sosa.

"They get frustrated with him," Bird said. "But they know how valuable he is for them to have success. With him they've had success. But can his teammates put up with Ronnie and, `Did he come to practice today? Why was he here an hour after you guys?' He has not been a model teammate with these guys. It's something we'll have to see."

Or not.

There's talk around the NBA lately that the Pacers and Hawks have interest in making a deal: Artest and Scot Pollard for Antoine Walker.

It makes a lot of sense for both teams, though Bird says he hasn't talked with Atlanta.

It would get the NBA off the hook for perhaps an excessive punishment to one of its model franchises. The Pacers need a forward to replace Artest; Jackson's playing there now.

There's much suggested about Walker being a selfish shooter, but he rarely has been coached in his NBA career. Walker is a major talent, one, it should be noted, Bird always has admired.

It pays for Atlanta to take a chance on an All-Star for a player they will lose for nothing to free agency in a few months of a lost season. Plus, Hawks general manager Billy Knight is a Donnie Walsh protege and likely wouldn't mind helping his old mentor. The Pacers went to New York recently to meet with Commissioner David Stern to plead for mercy, at least for the franchise and the community.

The belief is that Walker, having seen the dark side of the NBA in Atlanta as his star has fallen, could become an All-Star again, give some scoring help to Jermaine O'Neal and perhaps give Reggie Miller a shot at the Finals again in a season some say is his last.

Bird smiles at the thought but hardly is committed.

"I've never seen a player like Ronnie," Bird said. "The best defensive player, at least at his position. He can score in the post for his size as well as anyone I've ever seen. He disrupts things on the floor . . . not only for us. He's not flashy but has that brute strength that makes things happen.

"I always remember something Red [Auerbach] told me: `A year is not very long.' They waited a year on me," said Bird, who was drafted with a year of college eligibilityleft. "Would we make a trade that helps the team? Sure. But we're not going to go out and change the team. That's something that can destroy you."

So could Artest. Bird says if anything happens again with Artest, he wouldn't be surprised if he got a lifetime ban.

Remember what Bird said when the team suspended Artest earlier this season because he wanted to take time off to promote his album?

"Ronnie called me from the trainers' room and asked me to come down and talk," Bird recalled. "The kid was shook up. I said, `What's the problem?' He told me and I said, `No, you didn't! You did not!'

"I said, `Ronnie, this is not good.' But he's a heck of a player and a heck of a guy. He does a lot in the community, things for a lot of people. But he has emotional problems. He's wired. He gets out there and things don't go his way and he doesn't like it. It's something he has to work on or he's not going to be in this league. If I were playing with Ronnie, I would have said, `Go home and don't come back.' It's like quittin' on your team. But I can guarantee when he comes back, he'll be different. No one goes through what he has and doesn't change."

Perhaps someone like Walker, with a personal idol like Bird, could save the Pacers' season. Perhaps it's worth waiting for Artest. Perhaps the players, like the Cubs hope with Sosa, can avoid the distractions that come with a media lightning rod in the locker room and profit from his talent. It's the question that will loom more than their disappointing season.